Bal-a-vis-x: Rhythm is the Key Element!

"Bal-a-vis-x: Rhythmic Balance/Auditory/Visual/Exercises...requires focused attention, demands cooperation, promotes self-challenge, and fosters peer teaching."  

Wow, a program that uses rhythm, cooperation, crossing the midline, and visual tracking all in the pursuit of an integrated nervous system that is ready learn.  There are many similarities here to aspects of Math in Your Feet including rhythmic movement in concert with others, self-challenge, peer cooperation, and cross-lateral movements.  Sounds like a great idea whose time has come! 

Give This a Try!

A student's illustration of his Jump Pattern A, at his own volition, no prompting.

Start in center.  Feet together.  Assume all four beats move on a Jump.

The first two beats work just fine as written.

In Beat 3 you are still facing forward, right and left foot are not labled, but the arrows give you a clue.

How far do you turn on Beat 4?

Can you do this pattern backwards (a reflection of the beat order, e.g. 4, 3, 2, 1)?

How else can you rearrange these four beats to make a different pattern?  Did it work?

Which combination of beats/moves did you like the best?

Video: Bloomington Dancers in a Groove

Video: Mary Devlin -  Welcome Table Dress Rehearsal - February 2010

Choreography by Abby Ladin, with contributing footwoork from me, to the tune Mary Devlin, by Sam Bartlett. Moira Smiley belting it out on vocals along with Malcolm Dalglish and others. 



*If you have a Facebook account you'll be able to view this video. My apologies if you're not in that category.  It may take some time, but I'll work on getting it up on YouTube.

Conversations

Communication is one of the main themes of Math in Your Feet.  During the program students learn how to communicate with the language of rhythm and patterns in their feet.  They also learn to communicate their original dance patterns using math vocabulary and by mapping their patterns on a coordinate grid.

Communication is a two-way street: if you want kids to learn how to communicate well, it's important to listen to what they have to say.  I'm a big fan of listening to kids (except when I'm in the middle of making dinner, I suppose).  Here are some pictures of me having a rhythmic conversation with a young friend.  It's an amazing feeling to have a satisfying conversation like this one without using even one spoken word.  I'm always heartened and inspired at how much children have to say.